Enrollment
12
Minnesota · 2024-25 NCES data
Elementary school (grades K-5) · Lake Benton, MN
Heartland Elementary
Federal NCES profile for Heartland Elementary, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 53/100.
2024-25 NCES dataElementary school (grades K-5)NCES 270010803015
👥 S:T ratio 76
🌟 Gifted program 30
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Heartland Elementary earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools.
- 53
- Resource Index · Higher
- 6:1
- small classes for Minnesota
- 75.0%
- free-lunch eligible
- 12
- students enrolled
Heartland Elementary has class sizes smaller than 92% of Minnesota schools. Computed live against every Minnesota school reporting to NCES.
School address
District: Pipestone Area School District · Minnesota
NCES ID 270010803015 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
2.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
6:1
vs 15.8:1 Minnesota avg
-62% vs state
Free-lunch eligible
75.0%
vs 42.8% Minnesota avg
+75% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Heartland Elementary compares with Minnesota and U.S. medians
What stands out at Heartland Elementary
Heartland Elementary is a high-poverty, small elementary school in Lake Benton, Minnesota, enrolling 12 students.
Classes run notably small here: at 6:1, Heartland Elementary is leaner than roughly 92% of Minnesota schools and 62% under the state's 15.8:1 norm, more adult attention per pupil than most peers.
Economic need is high: 75.0% of students qualify for free meals, 75% above the Minnesota average, a Title I-weighted population that federal funding formulas prioritise.
This is a small campus: fewer students than 93% of Minnesota schools, with 12 enrolled.
Its Resource Investment Index lands in the upper third of 2,334 scored Minnesota schools.
Against 38 statewide peers matched on enrollment and economic need, it ranks in the upper tier at #15.
Its student body is predominantly White (100% of enrollment), among the less diverse in the state (diversity index 0/100).
Pipestone Area School District also operates Pipestone Elementary (580 students) and Pipestone Senior High (302 students) alongside Heartland Elementary.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Heartland Elementary compares
Heartland Elementary on the metrics families compare, against Minnesota and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Minnesota | Minnesota avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 6:1 | ▼ 62% | 15.8:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Free-lunch eligible | 75.0% | ▲ 75% | 42.8% | 51.7% |
| Enrollment | 12 | top 93% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
6:1
Leaner classes than 98% of US schools, among the more generously staffed nationally.
12
Bigger than 2% of US schools by enrollment, a small campus.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Economic need
75.0%
free-lunch eligible
- 75% above the Minnesota average of 42.8%
Well above the 40% Title I schoolwide threshold, among the highest-need profiles in the state; federal funds support the whole school, not individual students.
Staffing depth
6:1
students per teacher
- 62% below state mean
Top 8% in Minnesota - lower ratio than 92% of state schools
Well under the widely cited 15:1 individualized-attention benchmark, among the leaner class loads nationally.
Funding equity
$13,787
per pupil, district-wide
- below Minnesota avg of $15,270
Somewhat below the U.S. average per-pupil spend; funding constraints may affect programs, facilities, and staffing.
Support staff
Counselors0.0 FTE
Student-support staffing from the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Discipline context
0
in-school suspensions + 0 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 0.0 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
White 100.0%
Largest group: White at 100.0% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 0.0/100
Simpson diversity index - at 0.0, Heartland Elementary is less mixed than the Minnesota school average of 42.8.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Pipestone Area School District, which includes Heartland Elementary.
$13,787
Per student
-10%
vs Minnesota
Avg $15,270
-17%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 21.0%
State 64.8%
Federal 14.2%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Heartland Elementary Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pipestone Elementary | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pipestone Senior High | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
| Pipestone Middle | Larger | Lower economic need | Higher S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Heartland Elementary's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 580
- Students per teacher
- 14.1:1
- Resource Index
- 29/100
- Enrollment
- 302
- Students per teacher
- 15.9:1
- Resource Index
- 27/100
- Enrollment
- 244
- Students per teacher
- 16.3:1
- Resource Index
- 35/100
Similar elementary schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Minnesota, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~12 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Heartland Elementary's federal record.
- Compare Heartland Elementary against another school. Compare schools
- Pipestone Area School District's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Heartland Elementary
How many students attend Heartland Elementary?
Heartland Elementary has 12 students enrolled. It is an elementary school in Lake Benton, MN.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Heartland Elementary?
The student-teacher ratio at Heartland Elementary is 6:1, which is 62% lower than the Minnesota average of 15.8:1 and 62% lower than the national average of 15.7:1. Lower ratios generally mean more individual attention per student.
What percentage of students receive free lunch at Heartland Elementary?
75.0% of students at Heartland Elementary are eligible for free lunch, compared to the Minnesota average of 42.8%.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Heartland Elementary?
The largest demographic group at Heartland Elementary is White at 100.0% of enrollment, in Lake Benton, MN.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Heartland Elementary?
Heartland Elementary has a Resource Investment Index of 53/100 (higher reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 2 factors: student-teacher ratio. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology). Limited indicators were available, so the index reflects partial data.
Is Heartland Elementary a good school?
Heartland Elementary earns 53/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes smaller than 92% of Minnesota schools. It is also less racially and ethnically mixed than most Minnesota schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Pipestone Area School District?
Besides Heartland Elementary, Pipestone Area School District also operates Pipestone Elementary (580 students), Pipestone Senior High (302 students), and Pipestone Middle (244 students). See the Pipestone Area School District district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.